It's early -- as in five games into the season early -- but as Ray Ratto writes, it's not too ealry to hand Steph Curry his third NBA MVP.
Stephen A. Smith agrees Curry is playing at a MVP caliber to start the season. He even called Curry the greatest shooter in the history of basketball Wednesday night while Curry scored 51 points in three quarters.
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But Smith doesn't see another MVP for Curry this season. Why? The Warriors are just too good.
"Slim, very slim," Smith said when asked about Curry's MVP chances Thursday morning on ESPN's First Take. "I wouldn't say none because he's the greatest shooter I've ever seen in my life, and obviously he's capable of exploding. But I'll give it a slim chance simply because of the team that he's on."
Through five games, Curry is averaging 34.6 points and 6.8 assists per game. He's also shooting 52.4 percent from beyond the arc while making 6.6 3-pointers per game. Curry ranks second in points per game this season and leads the NBA in 3-pointers made by nine.
The problem against Curry's MVP case is how many other great players he shares the ball with, Smith says.
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"As great as he is, and even though he's the catalyst and the straw that stirs that cup in Golden State, the reality is you have one of the top-three players on the planet in Kevin Durant as your teammate," Smith said. "You have one of the top-five greatest shooters we've ever seen in NBA history as a backcourt mate in Klay Thompson.
"There's plenty of nights where you're going to have to share the wealth. LeBron is not going to have to share the wealth to that degree. The Greek Freak is not going to have to share the wealth to that degree. Anthony Davis is not going to have to share the wealth to that degree. Kawhi Leonard is not going to have to share the wealth to that degree.
"Because of that reality, I'd say the chances are slim but I could never say zero with the greatest shooter we have ever seen in our life time."